Clients want Transformative Advice from Consulting Outsourcers

Companies (clients) are more interested in getting advice and support to reach a desired business outcome and less interested in embarking on large projects. Listen to Phil Fersht discuss how clients are looking for a different relationship with IT consulting, outsourcing, and professional services companies.

Transcript

They want a lot more change management support. They want more data and IP and benchmarks. They want somebody who is going to be more of a transformative partner, who’s going to think through more than just old models and old world models to get there. They don’t want the MBA bus parking up at their front door, and saying “you know here’s another $5 million, let’s go and try and figure this out you know doing process maps.” It is more of a fundamental shift than that.

I think they want to have slightly different ways of interacting. They want to have a lighter engagement model in many cases that isn’t so heavy and intense, and they don’t want to spend as much, and that’s the other thing you have got to remember. Those sort of heydays of spending million dollars for project managers and reactionary type services are really fading out. People are willing to pay for much more transformative consulting advice.

They want a lot more change management support. They want more data and IP and benchmarks. They want somebody who is going to be more of a transformative partner, who’s going to think through more than just old models and old world models to get there. They don’t want the MBA bus parking up at their front door, and saying “you know here’s another $5 million, let’s go and try and figure this out you know doing process maps.” It is more of a fundamental shift than that.

I think they want to have slightly different ways of interacting. They want to have a lighter engagement model in many cases that isn’t so heavy and intense, and they don’t want to spend as much, and that’s the other thing you have got to remember. Those sort of heydays of spending million dollars for project managers and reactionary type services are really fading out. People are willing to pay for much more transformative consulting advice.